A website that lists the victims of Righthaven LLC 'shakedown' lawsuits that are causing irreparable harm to bloggers and advocacy websites.

Righthaven LLC -- a bottom feeding legal outfit -- has teamed up with the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Denver Post to sue mom and pop websites, advocacy and public interest groups and forum board operators for copyright infringement. The strategy of Righthaven is to sue thousands of these website owners, who are primarily unfunded and will be forced to settle out of court.

To date Righthaven has been ordered to pay $323,138 in legal fees and sanctions.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

First it was a "clerical error" that caused Righthaven to sue an Ars Technica journalist for using an image that was part of a court filing, now Righthaven is blaming an undisclosed "Former In-House Counsel" for not disclosing Stephens Media as an interested party in hundreds of cases they have filed over copyright infringement.

Righthaven submitted their answer to Judge Roger Hunt's order to show cause why they should not be sanctioned for the omission. Their only answer was this unnamed rogue in-house counsel screwed up.

For the foregoing reasons, Righthaven respectfully requests that the Court find its failure to comply with Local Rule 7.1-1 through its former in house counsel does not rise to the level of sanctionable conduct given the circumstances described herein. Moreover, Righthaven has taken corrective action in response to the Court’s June 14th Order by filing amended disclosure statements in almost 120 pending cases in within this District and within the District of Colorado. Dated this 28th day of June, 2011.

Since so many lawyers have left Righthaven it is difficult to determine exactly who Righthaven is blaming which cannot go over well for any lawyer that has ever worked for Righthaven.

After reading their reply it is not only a question of how much the sanctions will be, which is almost a certainty, but which "former in-house Counsel" will be the first to inflict some pay-back on Righthaven?

Didn't Steve Gibson just say on a TV interview that Righthaven hires some of the smartest laywers in the country?

3 comments:

There are two parts that are characteristically disingenuous. First, Mangano throws Coons and Chu under the bus, but Gibson signed the Democratic Underground complaint too. Second, this motion only addresses the Democratic Underground filing, but what about the 270+ other complaints that were equally defective--some of which Mangano signed himself? Righthaven can't blame Coons and Chu for all of those. Eric.

Gosh...Mangano, not some unnamed former in-house counsel, was responsible for filing the lawsuit against us....and scores of others. After all his name, and his alone, is at the bottom of the complaint. Guess what? No mention of Stephen's Media as an interested party.

To blame it on anyone other than the attorney whose name and signature are on the pages is ANOTHER FLAGRANT MISREPRESENTATION to the court.